


Warm Shadow

by Lilevander



Series: Promptio onesies! (Kid fic one shots) [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Mpreg, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 07:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10894563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilevander/pseuds/Lilevander
Summary: Noctis never met Prompto. Why? Because Prompto was born and raised in Altissia to lovely, wealthy parents who own a nice little cafe. Still, Noctis went on his road trip. His Shield, however, did meet Prompto. In Altissia. As Leviathan was destroying the city. Nice. First impressions are always important.So, the journey goes as usual but with a few changes to canon. One of them being after Noctis gets sucked into the crystal because apparently, when Noctis returns, his Shield has fathered five children. Five of them. With Prompto.Oh, and Cor becomes King after the end of the game. I know, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So...it's 4 am. I'm sooooooo tired. If you have questions or you just want to say something about the story, feel free to comment. I'm always open to talk. Otherwise, anything that I could probably put here right now, I'm way too tired to think of so yeah. I'll probably edit this later. For now...the story is pretty self explanatory. Mkay, thanks for reading. Have fun. Hope you enjoy. 
> 
> P.S. Any story written by me after ten pm requires some serious suspension of disbelief. Keep this in mind as you're reading, yes?

     Prompto was born and raised in Altissia to wealthy parents, owners of a classy little cafe and bar frequented by tourists and the romantic locals. Their home was above the cafe, bright and open, airy and spacious. Prompto loved his life. He loved his friends. He loved the cafe. He loved his clothes. His gadgets. His camera. His _crush,_ a sunny-haired boy named Ro who all the girls fawned over. They’d been getting closer, starting to talk, and Prompto’s dad _swore_ he’d sit Prompto down and discuss _protection_ but he had time, they always had time. At least, that’s what they _told_ themselves. But then Insomnia happened.

 

     Prompto’s parents had always been the kind of people to keep track of the political events of Eos. The destruction and fall of Insomnia was a pretty significant political event. They’d had to comfort their Lucian customers and reassure their Altissian ones that the same thing wouldn’t happen here. But then Leviathan happened.

 

     Prompto had been minding the cafe, preparing his mother's _special_ batch of gourmet iced coffee for the next wave of afternoon customers when it happened. A distant rumbling, gunfire, screams, the shrill piercing of some, otherworldly noise from somewhere up in the sky. Prompto’s parents had been on the other side of the city, talking business with investors, leaving their 16-year-old son alone to figure out what was happening. He heard frantic voices, ventured outside, and met Gladiolus Amicitia, the man who would father his future children, unbeknownst to either of them at the time. The rest was a blur, following Gladio, dodging bullets from M.T.’s, joining evacuations, worried for his parents, trying to fix his broken phone to contact them.

 

     When it was all over, he found himself all the way back in Lestallum, at The Leville, in shock and unresponsive, Gladio waving strong, calloused hands in his face.

 

     He immediately tried to go back to Altissia, saying his parents would be worried, saying his parents _needed_ him, his friends,  _Ro would need him_. He protested, trying to escape strong arms, until Gladio told him there _was_ no Altissia. There was nothing left. Everything was gone, destroyed, underwater, _gone_. Prompto cried. Gladio comforted him. Still, Prompto looked for his parents. He listened to rumors. He asked around. He made his own stay at the Amicitia family hotel well known. Gladio visited as often as he could, as often as the Prince needed something from Lestallum.

 

     Gladio...he got close to Prompto, got to talking to him like... _l_ _ike before._ Prompto, he _liked_ Gladio, wanted to spend as much time with him as he could, wanted to forget a certain golden-haired, green-eyed boy. Instead, he helped Iris run the hotel. Lots of refugees these days, lots of people needing a place to stay.

 

     The first time Gladio kissed Prompto, the Prince was in town for rest, just... _rest._  Prompto had been tending a little mobile garden Iris had set up in the lobby of the hotel and he slipped, thought of his parents for _just a second_ and he broke down and cried on the spot. He found a kindred spirit in Gladio, who’d lost his own father in such similar circumstances, in the fall of Insomnia, and he cried into the man’s shoulder. Gladio got awkward and didn’t know how to silence the pretty Altissian boy who was making a scene in the hotel lobby, so he kissed him. He kissed him and Prompto kissed back. Then Prompt’s parents showed up. It was a rough few days.

 

     Prompto wanted to be with Gladio but he wouldn’t leave his parents alone, not after how terrified they’d been, scared that their son, their _only child_ , was dead, crushed under some building back in Altissia, lifeless body floating in debris filled dirty water, drifting alongside countless other bodies, people they'd known, neighbors, friends. They’d been _desperate_ so Prompto stayed with them. Gladio understood.

 

     Prompto’s father, having lost the time to talk with _the other boy (whose name none now spoke),_  the dead one he’d found in the water, the one who’d given him reason to fear for his boy in the aftermath, sat Gladio down and _made the time._  Gladio was grateful. It was something _normal,_ at least. After all the chaos and death and sadness, people needed a little bit of normal.

 

     Gladio cried during the talk. It was so like something his own father would do that it hurt. Prompto’s father was more than understanding. Still, the Prince teased the Shield relentlessly. It was a relief from... _everything else_.

 

     The second time Gladio kissed Prompto, it was more heated, a promise. They’d only come into the city to collect on a hunt and they didn’t have time to spare, so Gladio made a promise with a kiss.

 

     Gladio followed through with his promise on the night of Prompto’s 17th birthday. The Altissian boy had been keeping track and he wanted to do something nice for _Gladio,_ depart from the traditional. So, the Shield made sure the Prince would have a hotel room that night, no camping allowed.

 

     They showed up, Prompto stealing the Shield away from the group immediately, and led him to a little alleyway behind the hotel, vines with budding flowers on the walls, colorful cobblestone underfoot, a small, round table covered in crimson silk, candles sitting between fancy crystal wine glasses. Prompto had been so nervous, telling himself that Gladio would hate it but then the older man had smiled fondly, pulling out Prompto’s chair as Prompto’s father brought out the food and drink, humming an old Altissian love song.

 

     Gladio made love to Prompto that night. The next morning, he was gone and Prompto became sick. Iris explained that the Prince had to go to Niflheim to _see about a crystal_.

 

     It took a couple of weeks but, eventually, darkness fell and Lestallum became one of the very few safe places anymore. Prompto had found out he was pregnant after a few more weeks and Gladio still hadn’t returned. He was so confused. Ignis had come to Lestallum so why was Gladio not back yet? When Prompto asked Ignis, the advisor told him that Gladio was angry. He was angry at Ardyn, angry at himself, angry at Noctis. He said that Gladio had _so much anger._ So, Prompto left him be. He was only a pregnant 17-year-old Altissian. What would he know about the needs of a royal Lucian Shield?

 

     When Prompto was five months along, he found out he was having a boy. So, he called the child _Cloud_.  _Cloud Argentum._  He didn’t think Gladio would mind. Besides, as far as he knew, Gladio still didn’t know about the baby. Maybe it was better this way.

 

     When Prompto was seven months on, Gladio showed up, _finally._  Prompto tried to avoid him. He didn’t want Gladio to know. He knew it was just a matter of time, though. After all, Iris was too excited. She was going to be an Aunt.

 

     Gladio was...a mixture of things. When he saw Prompto, hair grown out a little longer, glass baby bottles and a canister of formula in hand, a familiar swell to his stomach, still small for seven months, he felt... _so many things._  Heartbroken. Proud. Terrified. _Confused_. So, Prompto stayed away from him while he figured it out, turning instead to his own mother and Iris, who had helped him prepare the nursery and were helping him put together clothes and toys and supplies. Gladio spent his time with Ignis, for about a month, learning, talking, reminiscing. But then Prompto collapsed unexpectedly, going into labor a short while after, _too early._  Prompto’s father wouldn’t let the Shield in. The only ones inside the makeshift hospital room were Iris and Prompto’s mother, the physician, and a midwife.

 

     Gladio had to listen to the agonized screams, the midwife telling Prompto to _do this_ or _do that_ , Iris’ worried voice, the physician, calm and stoic, and Prompto’s mother, confident, reassuring. Gladio was frantic, uneasy. He was lost. He didn’t know what to do. Then the screams stopped. _Silence_. Gladio was paralyzed with fear. Even Prompto’s father seemed unusually tense. Then he heard the shrill wailing of a baby and he cried, sliding down the wall, head in his hands. After a few minutes, he was introduced to Cloud,  _his son._  Iris was so proud, holding the baby wrapped in soft, pale blue in her arms. Despite being a month early, the baby was still healthy, ti _ny_ but healthy, a miracle. Gladio sent a prayer of thanks to Shiva and held his son. _His child_. Gladio was a father now. He cried, _so many tears_. He was a father now and his own father would never know, would never get to see his grandson, the first. Gladio mourned that day. He mourned and he celebrated. He was a father now and Noctis wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Cor was taking care of the people in need, acting as regent in Noctis’ absence. Gladio was a _father_ now and he had responsibilities. So he stayed. Prompto was... _happy._  He loved Gladio. Gladio took a little longer to return the words but he’d felt the same for _a long time._

 

     Cloud was just like his father (Gladio) but looked like his mother (Prompto). He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. He was headstrong and reckless. Gladio _loved_ his son. Now, so much of what his father had said to him growing up was beginning to make sense.

 

     After Cloud, it was Lightning. _Lightning Argentum_. She, too, took after her mother in looks, her father in personality. She and Cloud were close, always at each other’s side.

 

     The next was _Penelo Amicitia._  Again, she looked like her mother but she had her father’s eyes. Mostly, she took after Prompto in personality but she could be stubborn like Gladio, especially when Cloud and Lightning wouldn’t share their toys. She was sassy, too, just like Iris had been as a child, _still was_.

 

     Larsa followed Penelo. _Larsa Amicitia_ looked and acted like his father. Or rather, he looked like his father and acted like his grandfather. He had his bouts of selfish immaturity, but otherwise, he was very mature and polite right from the beginning. The last was Hope.

 

 _Hope Amicitia_ was born a little over a year before the return of Prince Noctis. Hope looked like his mother and took after his mother. He was always close at Prompto’s side (whereas Cloud and Lightning were never apart, and Penelo and Larsa were always found together). He was a nervous child, though very affectionate, especially with his father. By the time Hope arrived, Gladio was dreading Noctis’ imminent return. He’d taken that concern to Ignis, horrified that he had already failed his King just for _thinking it_. Ignis assured him that he was not a bad Shield but, rather, a good father, terrified of leaving Prompto and their children in a broken world, without a _father_ , and that Noctis would agree. So, Gladio calmed. But then Noctis returned.

 

     The Prince had tried  _so hard_ not to cry, truly happy for his Shield when he met the children. He picked up Cloud and Lightning in both arms, Penelo and Larsa clinging to his shoulders and hanging off his back, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the soft skin of Hope’s nose. He stayed for two days, watching Gladio interact with his family, playing with the children himself, taking one last memory of the _good_ in the world before he departed from it.

 

     Gladio spent one last night with Prompto, curled in each other’s arms, stealing fervent, _desperate_ kisses, both dreading the morning dark.

 

     Noctis left to Insomnia with his Shield and advisor, both prepared to die for their King. But only one of them had to. Noctis told himself he could be _altruistically_ selfish on occasion, told himself Gladio would learn to forgive him someday. He might even _thank_ him. Noctis couldn’t...Gladio had a _family_ now. He had a reason to live. So, Noctis did what he had to: he saved his life, he left his Shield far enough away that he could finish this fight and Gladio could be a father to his children, that he didn’t have to suffer the same fate their  _own_ fathers did.

  
     Noctis faced Ardyn, faced his own father, and he knew, he just _knew_ when Ignis fell. It was almost as though he could _hear_ the last breath leaving his advisor’s body, but he also knew that at least one of them would get to live their life, would get to have a future. Noctis, with his dying breath, entrusted his kingdom to Cor The Immortal, the Marshal of his own late father, and left it in Shiva’s hands, left it with _Gentiana_. He knew Gladio would be furious, seething with rage, but for the future of Prompto, their children, for a future of _hope_ , it was well worth it. With that thought ushering him toward his father’s voice, Noctis let the darkness overtake him, _at long last_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick epilogue. Hope it satisfies. Let me know what you thought of the story, yeah?!

     It had been years. Gladio had raged. Gladio had grieved. Cor had helped him prepare and burn the bodies of his friends, _his brothers_ , give them a proper send off, one befitting Lucian royalty.

 

     It hadn’t made sense to Gladio, at first, why Noctis had left it all to Cor. On a logical level, yes. After all, Cor had been the Marshal and a reliable constant to King Regis. He knew the fine print of being King, the details and customs. But on an emotional level, a level _Noctis_ was familiar with, well...he guessed Noct really _had_ come back changed, more mature, _the true Chosen King_.

 

     So much had changed over the years. Iris had gone with Cor to help rebuild Insomnia. Her and Talcott had married and started a family of their own. The survivors and refugees of both Lucis _and_ Accordo, they’d gone, too. It only seemed fair, after all. The rebuilding of Eos would start with Lucis, with a new king and a new bloodline.

 

     Cor had confided in Gladio, told him _Cloud_ could be his heir. Besides, it wasn’t as if Cor was having children any time soon. Cloud would have to go to Insomnia, would have to spend time with Cor to learn and see. But...it was a good start to a new future so Gladio had accepted. Cloud had been so excited, all innocent and naive energy. Gladio had moved the family to Insomnia, to a part of the city that had been rebuilt for the select few to live while the _rest of it_ was being rebuilt, close to the Citadel.

 

     Gladio married Prompto, having been given a second chance by Noctis, having waited _long enough_. They married in Altissia, the rebuilding of the city slow but steady. Cloud held the rings. Lightning and Penelo were the flower girls. Prompto’s parents were there. Iris. Cor. _All their friends_.

 

     Cor ascended the throne in time, the rebuilding of Insomnia finished, its crown citizens settling into the city, life moving on. He named Cloud his heir at the coronation ceremony. Gladio and the family moved into the Citadel, Lightning training to be Cloud’s Shield, Larsa his advisor. Penelo wanted to train to be the Marshal someday. Hope just wanted to be where his family was.

  
     There were celebrations all throughout Eos, fireworks lit up the night sky, seen from the world over. A new day had begun, the dawn of a new era.


End file.
